In your company's Human Performance bag of tricks, there must be something that reminds each employee that he or she has a role and responsibility in error prevention, right? One of the ways we like to drive that message home is by encouraging all to keep a questioning AND receptive attitude.

"Cook-booking" of procedures (or, mindless compliance) and over-reliance on rules of thumb tend to promote an unthinking response to perceived simple problems and will eventually lead to rule-based errors.

A healthy questioning attitude will help improve recognition of actual or possible mistakes.

1. Before you start a test...

- Is there a better method to run the test?- Is there a test appropriate for this type of test?- Is the sample attached to the test specimen correctly?- What are the expected results?- If the sample or equipment breaks, will they create safety hazards and how then will we proceed?- Are all safety concerns acknowledged?

2. If something unfamiliar occurs...

- Is it safe to be near the equipment/sample after a failure?- If safe, are the results still valid?- If not, how can we prevent or deal with this situation in the future?- If the results are still valid, should we run it again anyway?- If it is not safe, do we need to shut off the equipment or evacuate the area?- How do we make the area safe?- What went wrong?

3. When the definition of success is uncertain...

- What do the results actually mean in context of the use of the test sample?- What factors could change the results of the tests?- Which are the most important to the success of the test?

4. During the test review meetings...

- Are the results what were expected?- If not, what could have caused the unexpected results?- Did we learn a better way to perform the test or analyze the results?